The Shape of Wonder
How Scientists Think, Work, and Live
In this captivating, insightful book, acclaimed physicists Alan Lightman and Martin Rees illuminate the life and work of numerous scientists in order to demystify the scientific process and show that scientists are concerned citizens, just like the rest of us.
“Remarkable. . . . Illuminating with refreshing clarity the ordinary and sometimes extraordinary work of scientists. This book is essential reading." —Jennifer Ackerman, bestselling author of What an Owl Knows
In an age of rapid scientific discovery and technological advancement, it’s understandable that many feel uneasy about the future. While we might have confidence in these new developments when we go to the hospital for a medical procedure, fly in an airplane, or take an elevator to the top floor of a…
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September 2, 2025ALAN LIGHTMAN earned his PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology and is the author of seven novels, including the international best seller Einstein’s Dreams and The Diagnosis, a finalist for the National Book Award. His nonfiction includes The Accidental Universe, Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine, and Probable Impossibilities. He has taught at Harvard and at MIT, where he was the first person to receive a dual faculty appointment in science and the humanities. He is currently a professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT. He is the host of the public television series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science.
The Shape of Wonder
Alan Lightman and Martin Rees
The Miraculous from the Material
Alan Lightman
The Transcendent Brain
Alan Lightman
Probable Impossibilities
Alan Lightman
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine
Alan Lightman
Screening Room
Alan Lightman
The Accidental Universe
Alan Lightman
Einstein's Dreams
Alan Lightman
Mr g
Alan Lightman
GOOD BENITO
Alan Lightman
Ghost
Alan Lightman
The Discoveries
Alan Lightman
A Sense of the Mysterious
Alan Lightman
Einstein's Dreams
Alan LightmanMartin Rees is a leading cosmologist and astrophysicist. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 2004 to 2012, is a member of the House of Lords, and former president of the Royal Society. He lives in Cambridge, England.
The Shape of Wonder
Alan Lightman and Martin Rees
End of Astronauts
Donald Goldsmith
Ripples in Spacetime
Govert Schilling